Delays in printing exam past papers was due to lack of communication between the printer and the distributor and technical complications arising from a more refined format, a University press spokesman said.

The matter had now been ironed out and all Matsec (Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate) and Sec (equivalent to O level) past papers of the last five years should be on the shelves within the next two weeks, the spokesman added.

The printing delays came to light through a letter sent to shops by Sierra Book Distributors, the sole distributors of the past papers printed at the University of Malta’s Printing Unit.

In the letter, Sierra spoke about the “disastrous lack of availability” of past papers that had been a source of complaint.

“Bottom line is that the lack of availability is through no fault of Sierra... This year, possibly worse than ever, some of our clients have pending orders dated back to April. We have about 350 different pending orders for clients,” Sierra informed stationers.

The University press spokesman explained the university did not stock past papers but worked on the orders placed by Sierra. “It is the distributor who is responsible for stocking papers,” he said, adding that the press printed from 3,000 to 4,000 copies of papers of each Sec subject a year.

Sec past papers (O level) were in greater demand than Matsec intermediate or A level subjects, the spokesman explained.

Sierra placed its order in July, initially requesting that a third of the order be printed immediately. The University followed suit and, in October, Sierra asked for the remaining two thirds of the order, with priority being given to 2010 past papers that were most in demand.

All the 2010 order has now been printed and the press was in the process of finalising the papers of earlier years.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said, this year it was decided to change the printing size and increase the size of the paper to A4 from A5 and improve on printing quality. This was mainly triggered by the students’ need to write on the past papers.

But these changes brought with them technical difficulties that delayed printing. This, coupled with communication hiccups with Sierra caused the delay, the University press spokesman said.

Asked whether the University would consider putting the past papers online for purchase, he said the University did not have the software right now but the option would be considered. One had to look into the financial feasibility of such a decision and take copyright issues into account, he added.